The present invention relates to the joining of materials, particularly to an ambient temperature joining technique, and more particular to a process for joining materials which requires no external heat source, which generates very little heat, and which can be carried out at room temperature.
The basis types of material joining techniques include adhesives, solders, brazes, and fusion welds. Organic adhesives produce low strength bonds compared to the high strength metallic bonds. However, only adhesive bonds can be made at ambient temperatures. Except for very usual techniques such as high pressure solid-state joining there are no high strength, low temperature joining techniques. There are many potential applications for a low temperature, high strength joining process such as for electronic materials, component and integrated circuits (IC's), and materials with metastable structures (i.e., intermetallic compounds, amorphous metal alloys).
The present invention satisfies this need in the art by providing a joining technique that requires no external heat source and generates very little heat in the joining process. It involves the reaction of thin multilayered films deposited on faying surfaces to create a stable compound that functions as an intermediate or braze material in order to create a high strength bond. The invention is essentially a low temperature, high strength joining process.